Tuesday, March 25, 2008
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Please don?t let me spoil a good cathartic experience for you. If you are certain the sky will fall, then by all means wear a helmet and turn elsewhere for confirmation. I enjoy amateur economics, you know, basic stuff like supply and demand. In my job, we study the real estate market in the Treasure Valleyand have been closely monitoring residential inventory since 2006 after the unfathomable sales year of 2005. At this point, you probably know there is an extreme excess supply of residential lots and, in my opinion, a much more reasonable supply of finished home inventory. I would argue that the market has been correcting itself for some time and we have made considerable progress toward equilibrium.
One way to evaluate the trend of finished residential inventory supply is to study the change in inventory by month from one year to another. Because we live in Idaho, winter both impedes the construction process and the buying process. During the holiday period, people are other...
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| Posted by Jenna Englund at 3:00 PM |
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Tuesday, March 11, 2008
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Gradual Recovery Through Spring
Boise, ID: Home sales statistics for February show that 360 Single Family Homes sold in Ada County according to figures released by the Intermountain MLS and reported by the Ada County Association of REALTORS®.
According to the National Association of REALTORS® Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist said many buyers have been waiting for higher mortgage loan limits. "The higher loan limits for both FHA and conventional loans will increase consumer choice and provide greater access to lower interest rate mortgages in high-cost regions," he said. "Therefore, a notable rise in home sales can be anticipated in the second half of the year."????????
"Buyer activity is continuing to grow," said ACAR President Dan Hernandez. "February sales are up 16% compared to last month. Sellers are coming back gauging the temperature of the market and getting ready for the spring."
Median home prices for existing homes ...
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| Posted by Jenna Englund at 12:48 PM |
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Tuesday, February 26, 2008
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Best States for Jobs
Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder.com writer
Location is everything, according to the real estate adage. Many people learn the wisdom of these words after they move into their first apartment on a tight budget and have a view of a landfill and the smells that come from it.
The same holds true for job hunting. Your chances of finding the right job ? or any job, really ? depend on where you live. The unemployment rate is the ratio of job seekers to the working population. Therefore, a low percentage means few people are having any difficulty finding work.If you?re looking for a job, you want to be in a state that has an unemployment rate lower than the national average, which is 5 percent according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Here are the 15 best states to find work ranked by their unemployment rates.
1. South Dakota
Unemployment rat...
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| Posted by Jenna Englund at 2:04 PM |
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Monday, February 25, 2008
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Here's an article from Time Magazine, February 25, 2008 titled "Ignore the Headlines"...
Famed Money Manager is perhaps best known for his timeless wisdom that you can beat the pros by focusing on stocks of companies where you either work or shop or have some other edge. But a more relevant Lynchism today is this gem: Ignore the headlines.
That's no easy thing. How do you tune out all the chatter and ink on recession, housing, subprime woes, the credit crunch, rogue traders, insolvent bond insurers, $100 oil and nukes in Iran? It's enough to make you sit on your thumbs and wait before making any big moves. But what, exactly, are you waiting for?
There has rarely been a moment in history when you couldn't scare yourself into doing nothing. And yet, as Lynch observed nearly 20 years ago, "in spite of all the great and minor calamities that have occurred ... all the thousands of reasons that the world might be coming to an end--owning stocks has continued...
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| Posted by Jenna Englund at 2:05 PM |
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Friday, January 25, 2008
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KTVB Story
In 2007, home sales across the Treasure Valley dropped 33 percent from 2006.
Marc Lebowitz with the Ada County Association of Realtors says the figure should be taken with a grain of salt.
The Ada County Association of Realtors claims although numbers are down from last year - it was still an average year in home sales. Homes sale numbers across the area were the 5th best ever. "2005 and 2006 spiked higher than anything we have ever seen," he said.
Lebowitz says 2007 turned into a year of opportunity for the first time home buyers across the area. "The sales of homes in the $160,000 to $300,000 mark in December of 2007 were 30% greater than in July of 2007...where everything else is trending downward that is trending up."
Another changing trend in 2007 - Lebowitz says fewer investors purchased homes.
"People buying homes in 2007 bought them to live in they wanted to make this there home, this is a great place to have a family," he ...
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| Posted by Jenna Englund at 10:33 AM |
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I just saw an Oprah rerun last week. I talked about the importance of ?going green?. If everyone left their receipt instead of tearing it off, it would leave a big pile of mess long enough to wrap around the earth in just one day...I was stunned by the impact of something seemingly so small.
I learned this Monday that John L. Scott has a vision and mission to evolve into a more eco-friendly company. We have committed to focusing our efforts on digital campaigns and moving towards excluding the waste that results from hardcopy...or print advertising This will not happen overnight, but it is exciting to know that the company that has taken such great care of me for the last 7 years in my career, is also taking an active approach to take ownership of the Earth.
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| Posted by Jenna Englund at 9:20 AM |
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Thursday, December 06, 2007
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I am excited to be able to participate in the upcoming Builder Christmas Light Tour. It begins just after Thanksgiving Nov 24th- Jan 2nd. Homes will be light up every evening between (sunset) 5-9:30pm. You can find more info at bclt.info. Some builders are also opening up their homes to collect donations for Toys for Tots and food for the Idaho Food bank. I encourage you to come out and enjoy the spectacular lights, on the even more spectacular new homes in Crossfield (on Ustick just west of Meridian), and Cedar Edge (on Lake Hazel just west of Maple Grove). The builders are required to have extensive lighting in order to be a part of this event. The homes and landscaping will be decked along with the halls. Since it is a contest, every builder will be making their best effort to dazzle the public. It will be the highlight of your Christmas evening drives if you take the time to drive through these communities.
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| Posted by Jenna Englund at 3:09 PM |
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By Nora Kormylo
Wow. What a wonderful experience it was to participate in the volunteer work during the extreme makeover in Middleton this past July. The episode aired on Dec. 2nd on ABC 6pm. I was amazed at the number of volunteers that showed up. I was working at the check in both 4 evening shifts from 10pm to 6am, and a couple of days. It was really hot, July in Boise. I asked a DJ at the media check in if he could ask everyone on the air to bring more ice, sunscreen and bug spray. WOW?. Hoards of people came immediately to drop off supplies we requested and more. It is so refreshing to see people rally around and help others. The pay for volunteering is significant. A heart filled with joy. I hope you got to see the episode this past Sunday. I was there the one in the blue shirt.
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| Posted by Jenna Englund at 3:03 PM |
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Monday, November 19, 2007
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Your home is an investment towards your future. It may seem like a monthly mortgage higher than your current rent check is too uncomfortable. A couple of things to remember before you wait any longer. Part of your monthly mortgage goes towards building up equity in your home, you can borrow against this in the future. You can write off your interest expense against your income. This is the biggest tax write-off available to most Americans. Your mortgage remains steady, if you have a fixed rate and you don?t refinance and use all the equity. Rents rise, often yearly. You will have more spending money for your retirement years if your home is paid off. In the future (15-20 years, your housing expenses will be lower than someone who rents. Leverage is used mot powerfully in Real Estate than anywhere else in the investment world. For $20k, a homeowner can (conceivably and given the right conditions) secure a $400k investment. That...
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| Posted by Jenna Englund at 12:22 PM |
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